


idealism sits in prison

by freckledpianoman



Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Found Family!!, Pining, also no powers!!, but i'll have fun with and thats what matters, i literally promise nothing on how good this is, should be equal parts deanoru and gertchase, the apocalypse au nobody asked for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:41:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22632844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freckledpianoman/pseuds/freckledpianoman
Summary: “Does this mean the bodies in coffins are just down there waiting to be let out?” Molly asks from the back. Chase laughs and Karolina turns to gawk at her.“What the hell kind of question is that, Molls?”~~the apocalypse au that literally nobody asked for!!
Relationships: Chase Stein/Gertrude Yorkes, Karolina Dean/Nico Minoru
Comments: 15
Kudos: 73





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> howdy!! i decided to write this on a whim and had a blast, so i hope you like it too. anyways, i didn't have this edited or beta read, so there may be some mistakes, but hopefully not too many. enjoy!  
> side note: this is my first fic posted for runaways, and first fic on ao3 so if there's formatting issues that's why.

Karolina thinks she’s become extremely unlucky in the last few days. Two days ago, she failed the exam she thought she was sure to ace. Yesterday, a plethora of lightbulbs fell out of her locker, courtesy of all the kids who thought her religion was a bullshit cult. A lot of people fell into that category, but she’s not one for revenge, so she decides it doesn’t matter who did it: just that it happened. And now, she’s running late for school.

Okay, maybe running late for school has nothing to do with her luck, it is  _ kind  _ of her fault, if she’s being completely honest. She’d gone to bed late last night, staying up to study for another exam she was having first thing in the morning. Karolina hates this part of the year: so close to summer, yet somehow more stressful than the trials of the last nine months combined. 

Now, her studying doesn’t matter, because she might not even make it to the exam. She’s crying when Gertrude Yorkes passes by her walking down the road. Karolina knew Gert once, when they were kids and before she adopted her love for activism. She actually thinks the activism was always there, she just grew into it as shit went wrong for her.

But shit went wrong for their entire group of friends, and that’s no excuse for Gert’s blatant disrespect for the Church of Gibborum. Actually, that sounds preachy, but Gert still doesn’t respect her religion, so what does it matter?

She doesn’t notice that Gert has stopped on the road and rolled down her window until she whistles to get Karolina’s attention.

“Hey, Karolina! What’s going on?” Gert’s words are probably a little bit invasive, but Karo’s less shocked by that, and more shocked by the fact that she might actually care. She’s got nothing to lose at this point, so she decides to humor Gert.

“My car is in the shop and I woke up too late to get a ride on the bus, which means I’m almost definitely gonna be late for my exam.” She wipes at her eyes, and is struck by how thankful she is that she didn’t have the time to do her makeup, because it would definitely be running at this point.

Gert’s eyes soften a bit as she sighs and unlocks the car. “Looks like we’re headed to the same place, then. C’mon, I’ll get you there in time.”

Karolina actually gawks at this, because if she expected anyone to offer her a ride to school on a bad day, Gert wasn’t high on her list. Karolina’s not stupid though, and she opens the passenger door, sliding into Gert’s beaten down car. “Uh… thank you. You really don’t have to do this, y’know.”

Gert starts them down the street and chuckles. “Well, I kinda do, it’d be shitty of me to leave you on the road like that. And I understand having a bad day.” Karo smiles at Gert, head filling with fond memories of their friendship in their youth. It’s sad to admit, but she’s definitely missed this, having a friend.

Not that this necessarily  _ is _ her having a friend, but it’s as close as she’s gotten in a long time, and if she’s being honest, Gert has always sort of felt like a friend, as long as you didn’t get on her bad side. She’s actually one of the most loyal people that Karolina knows, especially concerning her little sister Molly, who Karo now realizes is not in the car with them.

“Where’s Molls?” Karo looks in the back seat like she might be hiding, which honestly wouldn’t be too surprising.

“She’s lucky, she didn’t have any exams to take, so she’s just staying home.” Gert sighs. “I miss not being stressed out about school all the damn time, but I’m glad she doesn’t have to deal with it yet.”

Karolina nods, laughing. “I feel you. I swear it feels like my teachers are out to get me or something. Kind of feels like the whole school’s against me at this point.”

Gert cracks up a bit, then winks at Karolina, “They’re just preparing you for the harsh realities of American capitalism. I think it actually gets worse than this, which definitely doesn’t help my anxiety on the issue.”

Karo laughs, like  _ genuinely _ laughs at this. She missed Gert’s humor, it always struck a chord in Karolina’s heart and made her feel like someone understood. She’s glad to see that it hasn’t changed.

“So, what exactly are you planning on doing once you get out into the real world?” Gert prompts, watching in her peripheral vision for Karolina’s reaction. Karolina shifts, looking at her hands in her lap.

“I, uh- don’t know. I could always fall back on the Church, but I kind of feel like that’s what everyone expects me to do.” She admits, opting to trust whatever advice Gert may end up giving, because Gert always seems to just  _ get  _ it.

“ _ Fuck _ everyone’s expectations. I’m changing my question,  _ what _ do you want to do once you get out of Atlas Academy, Karolina Dean?”

Karolina’s heart sort of flutters, because she hasn’t been this honest with someone in so long, not since she stopped being friends with all the Pride kids. And being honest suddenly feels good, not like something that will get her in trouble.

“Honestly? I want to see the world. I’ve been tied down by my family for so long, I don’t think I know what it feels like to step out of my boundaries. Photography kind of sounds cool, I guess. Even if it is a little impractical.” The words fall out of her chest, and it’s like they spill directly into Gert’s hand because Gert smiles and laughs triumphantly.

“Hell yeah! Photography would be so cool. I say go for it, honestly. What’s the church gonna do about it? Unless it  _ is _ actually a cult, like everyone says.” Gert chuckles awkwardly.

“It would mean choosing between my family and myself. That doesn’t feel fair for either of us, but I just haven’t really ever entertained the thought of being so independent. But maybe I’ll think about it more from now on.” She shrugs and grins at Gert, who also seems to have forgotten just how fucking strange this whole situation is.

~~~

Chase wakes up when he hears the garage door open, then close. Good, his parents have elected to leave him alone about skipping his exams. They’re honestly not that important anyways, he’s taken all his science and math exams, so he does not give a shit anymore.

He fully intends to get the hell out of Brentwood and head for whatever college will take him into their engineering program, because he just doesn’t know how much of this fake ass life he’s living before he actually explodes.

It didn’t all start out too bad, his childhood through middle school definitely had some upsides, though he can’t exactly pinpoint what they were (actually, he’s ignoring what they were, but who cares?), and it won’t matter once he’s away from his father. Will he actually ever manage to get away from his father though, what with all the people hoping to see him grow into the next Victor Stein.

Fuck that, because behind all the genius inventions and magazine covers, and his stupid fucking charity organization, his dad is a total piece of shit.

It took a long time for Chase to realize this, because he spent so much of his youth ignoring those thoughts and electing to believe that his dad must have some secret, hidden good within him. Spoiler alert, he doesn’t. He may not hit Chase anymore, but his influence still weighs down on the house, and on Chase’s life.

Victor Stein has fucked over everything good for Chase, as far as he’s concerned, and he’s not going to let him continue to do that for the rest of his life: the cycle will end with him, no matter how scared he is that he may end up just like his father. If that ever happens, Chase thinks he might as well give up, and just live out his life until the cycle ends in some sixty or seventy years, when old Chase finally kicks the bucket.

But he doesn’t have time to worry about that, not now that his parents are out of the house for a couple days, and he can finally get his hands on some of his dad’s tech. He used to worry he’d get caught, but his dad’s so busy leading a fake life for the media (he’s going on a business trip now), that he’s hardly ever home anyways, so at this point he’s thrown caution to the wind and is already heading down the stairs.

Until he hears a shout outside. His head turns and he quickly makes his way over to the window, glancing outside to catch a glimpse of a woman stumbling towards a red-haired woman, hands outstretched.

The woman outside is moving so slow that Chase wonders why the redhead doesn’t just walk at a moderate pace back into her house instead of making a scene. But, he can’t ignore this, like other people did with his situation, so he heads outside and shouts to the redhead. “Everything alright, ma’am?”

Her eyes snap to Chase’s, and she shrieks as the stumbling woman turns towards him and begins heading his way.

“Get away from her, she’s dangerous!” She shouts as she begins to get into her car, slamming on her gas pedal and tearing down the quiet road.

The stumbling lady turns at the screech of the car taking off and begins to follow behind it. Okay, so that was weird, but it’s also not really his problem, since that redheaded lady is definitely gone at this point, and every other Brentwood resident should be locked safe and sound in their mansions.

Chase turns and heads for the lab, not wanting to waste any time before his parents return home at the end of the day, and decides that weird ass neighbors are not going to stop him from leaving California behind for good.

~~~

Alex really is just minding his own business when he runs into Nico. Like, full on  _ runs into _ Nico. She scowls at him and brushes herself off, before, turning to face him full-on.

“What the hell, Wilder? Are you blind?” She snaps, eyes hidden behind a pair of round sunglasses, her jet black hair in a bun that shifts when she moves her head. He scoffs and turns awkwardly away from her.

“Sorry, Neeks, just wasn’t paying attention, I guess.” He really,  _ really _ , doesn’t mean to call her that nickname, but that’s what he always calls her when he’s apologizing to her. At least, when he apologizes to her in his head. Apologizes for all the shit he’s pulled throughout the years.

“Don’t call me that, dumbass.” She growls, then takes off down the path to her next exam, leaving him staring at the ground silently, ignoring the stares of people looking to see if there might be an actual fight.

He hates Atlas Academy with a burning, fiery passion. Mostly because it’s where he receives looks of straight up amusement at his presence in general. At least, he assumes that’s what it is: his rectangular glasses, graphic tees and cuffed jeans. His unapologetic strangeness tends to make these people uncomfortable. It’s not the norm.

He also hates Atlas Academy because he has to walk through campus seeing his old friends, who simply ignore his attempts at eye contact completely. He really, really misses having friends, specifically friends within Brentwood.

Even though they’d broken up the gang on bad terms, Alex still longs for the day they might see eye to eye again, like Amy would want. Because that’s really all that should matter anymore, what would Amy want for them? He knows it wouldn’t be this.

Chase is a douche, even though Alex knows for a fact he doesn’t want to be (Chase had told him one night over the phone, he was drunk). Gert has her walls like a million feet tall and wide, he hasn’t seen her open up to a person in over two years (though, is that really his business?). Molly is sort of the same, actually, Alex thinks she wants the same thing he does. Karolina just seems sadder, like she might break any second (she’s not bad at acting like she’s okay, Alex just knows better).

Noting all of this kind of makes Alex sound like a condescending asshole, and he definitely is. He hasn’t been able to actually sympathize with people since Amy died, she made him a better person.

Alex feels uncomfortable analyzing Nico, because he knows that among all of them, she was affected the most, as good as she was at hiding it. He hopes she finds someone she can trust, he hopes it might end up being him.

But mindless hoping won’t change anything, he has to talk to her at some point, he’s actually been planning on reaching out to all of them. But it might be a bad idea, he might end up more hurt than he already is. At least he’d have closure, he thinks.

~~~

Karolina thanks Gert like she might drop dead if she doesn’t, because Gert has really, honestly done her a huge favor here. Gert just smiles and pats Karolina’s shoulder, shaking her head and telling her it was really no big deal.

Then she says something that Karolina is almost sure she imagines.

“It was really nice talking to you Karo, I’ll see you around.” Gert winks and then she’s gone, heading for her class, the exact opposite direction of where Karolina is going. She’s almost tempted to follow her and keep talking, but that would make all of this pointless, so she just wipes her eyes and moves on to her exam.

Karolina and Gert were not close as children, they both know that. There has always been some sort of disagreement within the way they wanted to go about their lives, so they fell into different groups even within the Pride kids’ friend group.

Karolina had always been closer with Nico, who seemed to balance her out, and seemed to grab her attention (she still does, but that’s really not the point). She’d also been good friends with Molly, simply because she just liked feeling like a kid, and Molly always brought about that feeling. She thinks she misses Molly and Nico the most, but she won’t tell Gert that, because that’s trivial bullshit, and also probably rude.

Gert was close with Chase, which nobody seemed to expect, it just sort of happened. And Alex and Amy were a whole other story. It’s funny, actually, that Karo thinks she misses Alex, even though they had never really connected like any of the other kids, they were so different, but not in the way that opposites could attract, like her and Nico.

Despite all this, she cared (cares?) for Alex, because he’s never done anything wrong to her, or to anyone as far as she knows. He’s just been handed a bunch of shit over and over again by his family and life and society in general, she thinks. 

Maybe she should tell him that, because she thinks he might need it and because it’s definitely what the Church would encourage. She can almost hear Gert yelling “Fuck everyone’s expectations” in the car earlier, and she smiles, but her stomach drops, because Karolina Dean doesn’t feel ready to make that jump quite yet.

She barely notices as she passes by Nico, then Alex, who looks almost more disgruntled than he normally does. She swallows her pride and smiles at him, because she thinks at some point, they all have to reconnect, it’s some sort of inevitable bullshit. She’ll lead the charge if she has to, because after this morning she’s really starting to miss her family.

~~~

Gert is knee deep in her AP Gov exam when something thumps against the classroom door. Repeatedly. Her teacher stands and peeks out the little window on the door, opening it to let it in. Gert thinks her teacher expects it to be the boy she let out to go to the bathroom almost an hour ago, and technically it  _ is  _ him, but that doesn’t matter when he stumbles into the teacher and knocks her to the floor, growling.

Ms. Mercer shouts and begins to push the kid off of her when he sinks his teeth into her shoulder, and everything basically goes to shit. Some kids laugh, while others shoot up out of their chairs and go to help Ms. Mercer, who is now full-on  _ screaming _ . 

The kids turns his head and milky white eyes meet hers. This kid looks dead, and it looks like he’s set his sights on the rest of the class. Gert shoots out of her chair and her hands are shaking, and  _ what the fuck is going on _ . Everybody is yelling now, scrambling for the door, which this fucking thing seems to be guarding, until he grabs a hold of a small boy and goes with him when he falls backwards. 

The class starts to flood out and Gert is starting to really freak out, because is she expected to help this kid or can she run with a good moral conscience? But the kid is already being knawed on at this point, and her feet are carrying her out the door, no matter what her head is saying. Call it survival instinct, or good luck, because Gertrude Yorkes gets out of that classroom and runs for the main campus.

She thinks she hears shouting from other classes, which might mean this is something that’s just happening now, and she’s got almost nowhere to run, but her car is still in the parking lot, and her little sister is still waiting for her at home, probably oblivious to all this. And she won’t let her sister get hurt, so shes bolts for her car, already digging in her pocket for her keys, when she thinks about Karolina.

_ If _ this has spread around campus, and Karolina knows about it and needs to get out, she should give her a ride, right? Just back to Brentwood, because that’s what a good person does, and because Gert has admittedly begun to like Karolina Dean just a little bit more. 

She doesn’t see anything weird lurking around in the parking lot, just a good chunk of students trying to get out as fast as possible, probably hoping to avoid sickness or just avoid exams in general and blame it on fear, which is kind of what Gert was doing, so she can’t really judge them, can she?

So, without really thinking, Gert pulls out her phone and calls Karolina, who fortunately (or maybe unfortunately) answers almost immediately. 

“So is my class the only one with kids acting weird as hell, or do you need a lift out of here, too?” Her voice is shaky and quiet, but Karolina must catch what she says pretty easily, because she sighs into the phone.

“Thank Gibb. I’m, like, two minutes away from the parking lot, if you’ll wait for me.” Gert almost laughs at that, because why wouldn’t she wait for a friend? But they haven’t been friends in so long that it surprises Gert when she thinks of Karo like that.

She almost gets in her head about it when Karolina turns the corner and sprints up to her. “Let’s get out of here, yeah?” She’s smiling like she pities Gert, like she might understand what Gert is feeling right now, which is a  _ whole _ lot of shit.

Gert slides into her car (which she’s lovingly named Roberta, but there’s no point in telling Karo that, she just thinks of random shit when her anxiety gets like this, it’s a coping mechanism, and she’s really, honestly fine- she just can’t admit that she’s freaking the fuck out, because what if saving Karo costs Molly’s life or some shit?)

Gert has no proof that this shit is deadly by any means, she just has that horrible gut feeling that everything is going to change now, and she has so many fucking regrets that she’ll never get to make up for.

Karolina’s hand links with hers, and the blonde girl squeezes gently. “It’s okay, Gert. Let’s just get back to Brentwood and Molly, yeah?” Gert is struck, because how did Karolina  _ know _ exactly what she was feeling, and why is this the most comforted she’s felt during a panic attack in forever.

Gert’s going to ignore that thought for now, because the sooner she gets to Molls, the better, so she floors in out of the parking lot and heads for home. Their hands stay linked the whole time, because letting go feels like acknowledging that something has changed.

~~~

When Molly hears multiple people pounding at her door, she thinks that it must be her parents having forgotten something. So, she swings open the door to meet whatever the hell these things are. Luckily, instinct kicks in and she slams the door before they can get in the house, but now she’s freaking out. Because  _ what is going on _ .

Her first instinct is to call her mom, but as she hits call, she hears her mom’s phone ringing down the hall. She could call her dad, but he’s probably busy and maybe she got sick and this is a fever dream. So she calls Gert, because she always seems to know what to say.

Gert answers immediately, and her first words through the phone are, “Molls, are you okay? Are you dead?” Molly almost laughs, because of course that’s how Gert starts a conversation. 

“Um, I’m fine for now, but these people are acting weird.” She glances out the door, where they’re still banging on the door, grunting. Their eyes are glassy and their skin has taken on a grayish-green tint.

“We’re on our way, just stay inside. Unless it’s bad, then run somewhere. I guess.” Gert is definitely panicking, and Molly can’t help but notice that she said ‘we’ but she’ll assume it has something to do with her freaking out, or she really does have someone in the car with her, which would be beyond  _ weird _ .

Molly paces by the door for a while, listening as more creatures seem to come. They’re getting frustrated now, and she realizes that this is an old house, with an old door, made of old wood, that might break. She’s heading upstairs when she hears the door splinter, and feet shuffling inside.  _ Shit. _

She locks herself in the first room she can find, which happens to be a linen closet, and sits on the ground, accepting that this might be it for her, because Gert is probably a good twenty minutes away right now, and she’s not sure if these things can smell her fear or not to find her. She’s crying now, because she doesn’t want to die, and she especially doesn’t want to leave Gert.

~~~

Chase is in the foyer when he notices more people stumbling down the road, skin tinted gray, just like that woman this morning. At first, he thinks he’s hallucinating, but those people are definitely real, and they seem to be wandering aimlessly until a dog barks and all of them turn to face the noise. They start to head for the sound, not even bothering to avoid the trash cans or curbs in the way, they just trip and get back up.

Surprisingly enough, he connects the dots pretty quickly and realizes that this isn’t good and he needs to start prioritizing what he’s going to do right now. And for some reason, his mind goes to his old friends, specifically Molly, who he knows is at home right now, because only juniors and seniors have exams. And the rest of her family is definitely out of the house right now. So, he grabs a lacrosse stick (for protection, obviously), and his feet start carrying him to the Yorkes’ house.

He moves silently, because he’s kind of already figured out that these things are attracted to sound, and if they  _ can  _ see him, they’re not acknowledging it. As he approaches the house, he notices that the front door has been broken down and people are pooling inside. He can’t hear Molly, but he’s praying she used her judgement and went to hide. 

But he can’t know until he gets in the house, so he readies the stick and heads to the back porch, where he can see them wandering. He can’t comfortably get past them, so instead, he does what he always instinctually does at the Yorkes’ house, and hoists himself up onto the roof just below Gert’s window.

He did this all the time when they were in middle school, and it’s pretty much second nature at this point. He sighs in relief when Gert’s window slides open and he slips through, making a silent beeline for the door. As he’s leaving, he notices a picture of the group pinned up on Gert’s wall, and has to stop to collect himself.

This house is… a lot, honestly, because if this was four years ago, he’d be in here with Gert, joking around about whatever classes they hated, or the most annoying people in their grade. Now, Chase hangs out with those people, and he can’t talk to Gert, it just isn’t right after everything he’s done. He doesn’t cry about it or anything, he just wishes silently that things were different, and moves on.

Once he’s out in the hallway, he decides that rooting through the house would definitely be creepy, so he calls out silently for Molly.

“Molls! Where are you?” He’s not too concerned that the things can get up the stairs, at least not fast enough to catch him before he’s found Molly. So, he says her name a little louder this time and hears a sniffle and a door handle turn. 

“Chase?” She’s crying and his heart twists, because no fourteen year old deserves to go through this (whatever  _ this _ is, he hasn’t quite pieced it all together, but he’s definitely getting there). She brushes her hair out of her face and sniffles. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, uh- I noticed how weird people were acting and I knew you were home, so I thought I’d come check on you.” It’s weird when he says it out loud, because he hasn’t had a real conversation with Molly or anybody else from the group in over a year and a half. What  _ is _ he doing here?

“God, I was freaking out. Gert’s on her way back but I wasn’t sure she’d get here in time.” Her eyes are red as she looks him up and down. “You okay?” She breathes out, like it might hurt her to ask, because Chase has a good feeling that she  _ knows _ . 

He nods, grinning despite the situation. “Yeah, I’m good, Molls.” This is weird, this is  _ definitely  _ weird, but it’s also really good? His jaw hurts like he’s had it clenched for the longest time and then finally relaxed it. That’s probably just how it is, because he can’t ever seem to relax at home, and his fondest memories happened in this house, and seeing Molly for the first time in years is taking a toll on his ability to have his normal, douchey, nonchalant attitude.

“We should get outside, so Gert doesn’t freak out and try to come in the house.” She murmurs, then stops. “How  _ did  _ you get in here?”

Well, there’s no point in lying, because it doesn’t really matter at this point, so he smirks and in an almost-whisper says, “I came through Gert’s window, like I used to when we were in middle school.” He’s almost proud of how good he still is at getting up to the window, but he definitely won’t tell her that. “Let’s go, I’ll catch you when you jump down.”

She nods, seeming to decide it’s not the time to pry, and Chase leads her out the window, down the roof, and to the safety of their back porch. 

“So should we just wait on the front lawn for her- or you can call her and tell her to come to my place, I guess? None of these things are crawling around there, as far as I know.” Chase is trying very  _ very _ hard to be nonchalant, and Molly looks at him funny then shrugs.

“I guess she can just meet us there, better to just avoid these things altogether.” She takes out her phone and types a text to Gert then turns slowly back to Chase, “Alright, lead the way.” She seems to have calmed down, which calms Chase down, because seeing Molly upset has always and probably will always upset him, as good as he is at hiding (or ignoring) it. Molly has always felt like a little sister to him, and even after the group split up he tried to keep an eye out for her- not that she couldn’t take care of herself, he just felt like he owed it at least one of the Yorkes-Hernandez sisters to be a decent human being. That sounds really bad, actually, that he looks out for one and has spent the last two years ignoring the other, but that’s for a completely different reason that he will continue to ignore, probably until the day he dies.

So, with that in mind, they set out for his house.

~~~

For a second, Nico thinks that this day could not possibly get any worse. Her nose is stuffed, her head is pounding, and she feels like she could keel over and die at any second, but thanks to the ridiculous expectations of the American education system, she is still at school to take her exams.

Then, because some divine must really,  _ really  _ hate her, she bumps into Alex Wilder, who happens to be a douche. She doesn’t really think that (she’d honestly pin that more on Chase, but he’s not the one she bumped into), but Alex skipped out on his best friend’s funeral, and his best friend happened to be her sister- so she’s allowed to hold a grudge.

Their exchange is short, but it really sets the mood for the rest of her day, which is shitty to say the least. She’s taking her AP Chem exam, which she’s honestly not feeling  _ great _ about, and everything seems to crumble from there. Kids are running out of classrooms screaming for everyone to get off campus, there’s some virus or some shit, and then some chick stumbles into her class and bites a boy sitting at the front.

Nico is not stupid, so she decides this might not be a great place to stick around, and takes advantage of the opportunity to get out of school. A part of her feels bad, because this might actually be a big deal, but what can she really do about it?

As she’s getting into her car, she sees Alex get pushed by someone into the direct path of one of those things, and she’s left with a choice. She could leave him, because what does she owe him, honestly? Or- and it pains her to think this- she could do the good thing, what Amy would want, and help him out.

Begrudgingly, she runs over and swings her bag at the thing, knocking it on its ass, and grabs Alex Wilder’s hand, pulling him into her car. “What the hell was that?” He’s short for breath, and probably panicking, so she tries to go easy on him when she responds.

“I just saved your ass- I think, anyways. You good with heading home?” Her voice sounds strained, like she’s trying to force the words out of her mouth (which she is, so). He nods, so she pulls out of the parking lot and decides they’ll take the scenic route, because Nico is nothing if not blunt, and she and Alex have a lot to talk about.

“I actually have a theory about what those things are.” He sighs. Nico’s eyes widen a bit, because honestly she wasn’t expecting him to be so willing to make conversation, but this just makes it easier for her, and reminds her of why they used to go so well together. He can carry the conversation and will just let her listen. She hopes he still likes to hear himself talk.

“Oh yeah? Wanna share?” She glances at him in her peripheral, and he looks pale and a little bit green, but not in the way those creatures did. “If you’re gonna throw up,  _ please _ tell me so I can pull over.” She laughs.

He clears his throat and nods, and she nearly misses the small grin on his face. “Well, I hate to say it, but I- uh. I think this might be a zombie situation.” 

She laughs, because first of all, that’s fucking ridiculous, and second, she really does think he’s joking, so she might as well be nice enough to laugh. Because she doesn’t like the possibilities of that actually being the case.

“No, I’m serious, Nico, this is some Walking Dead shit.”  _ Oh God, he looks serious _ , she thinks, before her mouth opens and closes, and suddenly she’s struggling to breathe.

Society cannot handle the apocalypse,  _ she  _ cannot handle the apocalypse, and this is where karma comes for humanity. “Alex, that’s ridiculous.”  _ But it makes sense,  _ whispers a voice in her head that she dutifully ignores.

“Think about it! Their skin, their eyes, their apparent hunger for flesh. It all adds up.” She doesn’t honestly need convincing, because the logical part of her brain is telling her that this is just how it is, and they’re all totally fucked.

“Well- what the hell do we do?” She’s trying  _ extremely _ hard not to lose her shit. Her parents are on a business trip, what if they don’t make it back? What if they don’t even bother to try and come back? Where is she supposed to go to survive until this all blows over,  _ if  _ this all blows over.

“Uh- I say we just head for Brentwood and wait for our parents to get home.”  _ Oh shit,  _ she remembers. All the Pride members are on the same fucking business trip. Which means all their kids are already off to a disadvantage.

As much as Nico hates to admit it, she definitely doesn’t hate her old friends, she just won’t go out of her way to be nice to them. Gert and Molly really haven’t done anything to make her mad, they just don’t mesh anymore, Chase is a douche (we’ve been over this), Alex is sitting in this car with her, and Karolina is a sheltered church girl who Nico wishes she could be more like. Not sheltered, just less bruised by the world. Karolina is like a light in the world, while Nico could be described as the exact opposite.

So, with all this is mind, she decides that once they’re back in Brentwood, they (or she, if for some reason Alex is against it) are going to find their old friends and see where to go from there. 

~~~

Gert is a little concerned as to why Molly had told her to meet up at Chase Stein’s house, but is less concerned when she drives past their house and sees that the door has been broken through, which means Molly is only at the Stein house because she probably had nowhere else to go.

And, honestly, it’s not a bad idea. Chase’s parents have that place locked up like a fortress, which means there’s almost no chance Molly could get hurt. The only better place to go would be the Wilders’ mansion, simply because it has more room, meaning there would be more places to run, at least Gert thinks that’s how this could work.

She hasn’t made up her mind about what this is yet, but she’s already heard Karolina refer to the things as “walkers” once. Of all the people she expected to be diehard The Walking Dead fans, Karolina Dean was at the bottom of her list. And now its kind of caught on, and Gert has found herself wanting to call them that stupid fucking name too.

Gert’s conversation with Karolina has gone quiet at this point, but it’s a comfortable silence, and they both seem to be calming down, having heard from Molly and knowing exactly where she is. And who she’s with.

Chase may be a jerk, but he probably could hold his own against a walker, and whatever keeps her sister alive is good with her. Gert clears her throat, because the idea of Molly dying freaks her the hell out, and before she can get too emotional about it, she needs to talk or do something to distract herself. So she just says what she’s been thinking.

“Chase is an asshole, but I think he can protect Molly.” She murmurs. She’s almost scared Karolina might chastise her or something, but she just laughs. 

“Fair enough.” Karolina’s been smiling this whole time, Gert notices. Which is weird, because this is a totally shitty situation. What’s there to smile about?

“Why are you smiling? This could be the start of the zombie apocalypse.” She doesn’t really mean to say it as sharply as she does, but it comes out and Karolina’s smile seems to soften, as do her blue eyes.

“I don’t know, I guess I’m just reminiscing. About when we were kids.” Gert finds this a little bit sappy, if she’s being completely honest. Unfortunately, there’s also some truth in what Karolina says, because Gert has sort of been doing the same thing, but it hasn’t been making her happy, it’s just making her miss what she used to have.

“It just makes me sad to think about how it used to be. But I miss it, I guess.” Gert whispers, her eyes filling with tears before she can even stop it. Being in this car with Karo is doing a whole lot to her anxiety- not because Karo makes her anxious (she’s actually been helping to calm Gert down), it’s just so weird and kind of lovely that she thinks she might wake up any second. That’s what this feels like- a weird ass dream.

Karolina just smiles softly at her. “I miss it, too.”

As they trundle along the road up to the Stein house, Gert grows tense again. Chase definitely has not been in her good graces lately. They’d been good friends, once,  _ best friends _ **_,_ ** but he’d destroyed all that when he left her (and the group) for the dickheads on the lacrosse team about two months after Amy died.

The excuse he had used was that they “just didn’t fit together anymore”, which was bullshit, because everything had been fine up to that point. It’s not that she didn’t try to get him to stick around, him leaving definitely wasn’t for a lack of trying to keep him on her part, she just  _ left. _ And okay, maybe he was scared, because Amy was dead (is dead) and his dad was shitty (is shitty), but she could have helped him! 

She pulls up to the gate and presses the buzzer. She never used to do that- when they were friends, she’d just jump the gate.

“Gert, is that you?” she hears Molly through the intercom, sounding strained,  _ worried.  _ Gert hates that, and she hopes that Chase is still just as good at comforting people as he was, because that’s one thing she can always remember him being good at.

“Yeah- me and Karolina. Let us in?” The gate clicks and opens, so Gert swallows her pride and moves down the drive towards the mansion. Molly is on the front porch when they pull up, and as soon as Gert is out of the car, Molly is running to hug her. Over Molly’s shoulder, Gert can see Karolina and Chase making awkward eye contact, both wearing strained smiles.

She pulls apart from Molly, who finally seems to acknowledge Karo’s presence. “What’s the story behind you two being in the same car?” She finally asks, and Gert has to laugh, just to expel even a little bit of the stress filling her muscles right now.

“I ended up running into her before school and gave her a lift, then we met up when this all started. You guys are both okay, right?” Chase just nods, and it seems like he’s either staring into her soul or staring directly past her, and she can’t decide which it is.

“Yeah. I mean- I was in a little bit of a sticky situation but Chase helped me out and we came back here.” Molly laughs easier, and Gert knows that laugh, because it’s the laugh she always uses when she’s hiding something.

“Sticky situation? Like what?” Gert glares at Molly, who breaks under her gaze.

“Uh, the things got inside so I was hiding upstairs until you got home. But Chase came and saved me.” Gert can’t help but look at him funny. She’s not surprised by the idea, because she knows that Chase- the one who would drop anything to help someone. She just hasn’t seen him in a long time.

Chase blushes and Gert has to smile a bit, because she can’t deny that it’s cute. Not him, obviously, just the thought of seeing  _ her  _ Chase blush like that.

“I- uh, I wouldn’t call it saving you, I just knew you wouldn’t have exams and so I came to check on you. Don’t give me too much credit.” Gert is definitely smiling, which means this is definitely a dream. Smiling at Chase is against the law.

Molly suddenly turns, then hugs Chase, who looks just about as surprised as Gert. “I forgot to thank you earlier. I’m glad you were there to help me.” Chase is  _ beaming _ and Gert’s heart is twisting, because this is all she’d ever dreamed of a year ago, them making up. This isn’t them making up- but it feels like a start, and making up doesn’t sound as bad as it might’ve this morning, because the world might be ending, and having friends along for the ride sounds good.

Gert turns and sees Karolina looking down at her phone, eyebrows scrunched up. “What is it?” She asks and Karolina shakes her head like her brain still hasn’t caught up.

“It’s Alex. He says he’s with Nico and to meet them at his house.” Her cheeks are pink as she turns to the rest of the group. “Should we go, then?” Karolina’s mind seems to be made up, because she slides back into Gert’s passenger seat.

Chase chuckles and gets in the back, Molly following after him. “I guess we’re all on the same page, then.” Chase muses and Molly beams.

_ So this is happening _ . Gert decides it could be worse and gets back in the car, pulling out of the drive and starting towards the main road. This is beyond weird, and she’s content with that, because she’s almost looking forward to whatever happens once they’re all together again.

“Does this mean the bodies in coffins are just down there moving around?” Molly asks from the back. Chase laughs and Karolina turns to gawk at her.

  
“What the  _ hell _ kind of question is that, Molls?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex is definitely dreaming. All his friends are back in the guest house together, congregating (as best as they can, given the circumstances) and not at each other’s throats. It’s like he’s traveled through time- but this isn’t Doctor Who. His friends are here, but the world also may be falling apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm back (albeit later than intended)!!  
> i didn't edit this, i just wanted to finally get it out there. next chapter should really pick up the story and we can get rolling, so enjoy!

As they pull up to the house, Karolina sees Nico and Alex sitting on the porch waiting for them. They look tense, like they might’ve just been in an argument- Nico’s lips are pressed into a thin line and Alex just looks guilty. Karo decides she’ll be the first out of the car and doesn’t wait for Gert to stop completely before unlocking her door and stepping out.

“Hey guys!” She’s trying very,  _ very _ hard to act like nothing has changed. Alex looks at her and relaxes, smiling softly. Nico’s expression doesn’t change, she just stands and crosses her arms, looking over every one of them.

“Anyone been able to reach their parents? Because neither of ours’ are answering their phones.” Her words are short and straight to the point, which is exactly what Karolina expected. It’s different than how she used to be, specifically with Karolina, but in the few times they’ve spoken since Amy’s death, this is how it’s been. Nico’s walls are higher than Karolina thinks she can bear to climb.

“I tried mine in the car. Nothing.” She sighs, watching for Nico’s reaction. The girl just nods, hugging herself. 

“Great. Chase?”

“Nothing.” Chase doesn’t look too unhappy about his parents not answering. Karolina knows that his relationship with his dad is strained- it has been since childhood. She doesn’t know much about his relationship with his mother, but she assumes it can’t be much better, since he doesn’t seem too concerned with  _ anything _ that’s happening.

“Ours aren’t answering either,” Molly adds. She’s shrinking into herself, and before Karolina can even think about comforting her, Gert is at her side linking their hands. “What if they don’t come back?” Molly chokes out. Both her and Gert’s eyes are welling up.

Alex shakes his head, stepping down from the porch and putting his arm around the girls. “Probably a lot of traffic right now. They’ll be back, we just have to wait for them. If it makes you feel better we can all stay here together, like we used to.” This is  _ different _ , because Alex has never been this soft to any of them, but now he’s looking at them all fondly, like this is what he’s been waiting for. 

Chase nods, carefully watching all of them. “That sounds like a good plan. Strength in numbers.” Karolina just nods, and Nico shrugs.

“Then it’s settled. Lead the way, Wilder.” 

They end up in the guest house, which is a whole  _ rush _ of emotions for all of them. They were always in here when they were kids- playing games, watching movies, just generally being kids. This was a safe space for all of them, and it was relatively untouched. Karolina sits gingerly on one of the couches and vividly remembers sharing this couch with Nico when they slept over here as kids.

The idea makes her blush now, because that kind of intimacy with any of the others in here right now, especially Nico, sounds like a fairytale. Nico was never necessarily a  _ warm _ person, but she had a soft spot for Karo when they were kids, and Karolina misses feeling that loved by a person- that  _ trusted. _

Nico hasn’t even looked at her since they walked in the room, but she does sit down next to her on their couch. It’s awkward and if there was a conversation going on, it might be better, but it’s dead quiet between them, so they’re just stuck hitting here like strangers. Karo hates this- she’s with Nico, but it doesn’t feel like she’s really  _ with _ her.

Karo looks up and sees Gert and Molly talking to Alex, and Chase messing with the pinball machine up against the wall. Karo swallows her fears and turns to Nico. “Weird being back, right?” Her voice is strained and she’s not sure if the smile she’s going for is coming out the way she wants it to.

Nico looks up quickly, like she’s surprised Karolina’s talking to her and nods. “Yeah it’s uh- definitely a change. I had a look around here earlier while we were waiting for you guys, though.” She’s definitely not as snappish as she was earlier, so Karo grins and carries on.

“Find anything interesting? Secret passageway or something?” She bites the urge to bump shoulders with Nico, because that’s a whole other level of comfort that they definitely have not reached yet.

“Unfortunately, no, but I did find some pretty cute pictures from when we were kids. Namely a picture of us.” Nico smirks. Karolina should  _ not  _ be blushing. This is weird, but this is also so right- it feels like some planets have aligned and allowed her to have a conversation with Nico that wasn’t about how shitty the last few years had been.

“Oh, Gibb. How bad is it?” She grimaces softly and Nico just  _ smiles _ at her and pulls a polaroid out of her pocket.

“I’d say on a scale from one to ten it’s like a solid six.” They lean towards each other conspiratorially and Karolina looks long and hard at the picture. She remembers the day it was taken.

_ “C’mon, Karo! I wanna go outside but nobody else will. Pleaseee, I’m so bored!” Nico’s tiny eleven year old self is hanging upside down off the edge of the couch, playing with her necklace. Karolina sits next to her, grinning. _

_ “We’ll get all muddy! Let’s just play Twister or something.” But she already knows that she’s definitely going to end up outside with Nico- that’s just how it plays out, her best friend can be very persuasive.  _

_ “Twister’s boringggg! I wanna play in the rain.” She flails her arms and ends up losing her balance, flipping off the couch and onto the floor, which she stretches across to stare at Karolina. “Karo, come on! You know you want to.” _

_ Karolina hides her grin and scoffs. “How would you know? Maybe I like this outfit and don’t wanna get it dirty.” She actually hates this outfit, and even if she didn’t, she’d still end up outside with Nico having a blast. Seeing Nico happy makes her happier than anything material. _

_ Nico sticks out a lip and latches onto Karolina’s leg, hugging it and wailing melodramatically. “Karolinaaaaa! Come on, you love me.”  _

_ Karolina laughs. “Yeah, obviously. Let’s go, dork.” Nico cheers and jumps up, grabbing Karo’s hand and pulling her outside. _

In the picture, they’re both covered in mud, curled up on the couch, which is covered in towels to keep it from getting muddy. Karolina remembers being so wiped out after that and falling asleep with Nico as soon as they’d both showered.

It’s one of her favorite memories with Nico, but any memory with Nico makes her feel all warm inside- in a way that nobody else has ever made her feel. 

“Aww, I remember that. You almost broke your ankle slipping around in the mud.” Karolina snickers as Nico turns red. 

“Yeah, but you caught me before I could hurt myself.” Nico tilts her head and studies Karolina, which just causes her to blush and aggressively wish she had more composure than this.

“Obviously. What are friends for, right?” Karolina breathes out. Nico just nods and looks away, shifting in her spot next to Karolina. It feels like she’s done something wrong- but she knows she hasn’t. A lot is going unsaid, they both know it.

~~~

Alex is definitely dreaming. All his friends are back in the guest house together, congregating (as best as they can, given the circumstances) and not at each other’s throats. It’s like he’s traveled through time- but this isn’t Doctor Who. His friends are here, but the world also may be falling apart.

Alex wonders if that’s the trade off the universe needed. All of humanity just so he could have a moment with his friends before he has to figure out what to do with himself. This is a lot of consequence for some closure, but maybe this is what they deserve.

Thing is, Alex knows their parents aren’t good people. They’re hypocrites- they run a charity organization, sure, but what have they actually  _ actively _ done to help the less fortunate? They haven’t actually invested their money into the good cause, just starting PRIDE. Alex hates PRIDE, a little bit- mostly because he feels lost without what PRIDE gave him.

That’s super lame, and Chase would definitely make fun of him for that (even though Alex is pretty sure Chase feels the same- he can read people, and Chase is not as good at acting as he thinks). This all goes to show that PRIDE does help people, but it also takes away whatever control those people may have over their lives after it all falls apart (which is what inevitably seems to happen).

It makes him feel shitty to be so whiny about this crap, because Alex recognizes his privilege, not only because of Gert’s activism (though he’d never admit it, it did give him a wakeup call), but also because he’s seeing it in other people. He sees it in the people who can go a day without worrying about sitting alone at lunch, or who can comfortably tell their parents how they’re feeling without getting some passive response that basically means ‘go away’.

He had that kind of privilege when he was a kid, now he’s just rich. This sounds a lot like some preachy ‘money can’t buy happiness’ shit (which it kind of is), but money can at least keep you fed and clothed. Alex has started making friends with kids online who have it worse than him and he can’t help but strive to help.

Those kids don’t have a solid support system, sometimes they have to skip meals, their parents just yell and scream until they can feel better and leave their kids feeling like shit. He’s heard it through mics, and felt it through their vent messages at 2 am. Alex tries his best to comfort the kids on the other end of the screen, but never bothers seeking their support.

It’s probably a little bit classist, but he can’t vent to someone who he knows has it significantly worse than him. And it’s different through a screen.

All convoluted thoughts about society and socioeconomic problems aside, Alex misses his friends- misses having a support system he could count on. His parents try, but they just can’t seem to hit the mark on comforting everything he’s feeling. Especially now that the people causing those feelings are in his house.

~~~

Chase watches as Gert, Nico, and Karolina flip through musty old photo albums from when they were kids, and he’s almost sure he’s been here before. Maybe he dreamed it, because he hasn’t been able to actually talk to them in two years.

Well, most of them. He’s talked to Karolina- not full conversations, just polite exchanges that help to get him through the day, most of the time. 

And about ten months ago, he talked to Gert. It was weird- not in a bad way. It just made him feel so  _ off _ . He’s used to having flat, emotionless conversation about girls or  _ fucking lacrosse _ with his teammates, but his conversation with Gert actually stimulated his brain- and it all felt a little less foggy.

He called her- he was drunk and in his feelings (that’s his excuse, anyways) and he just needed to hear a familiar voice that wouldn’t push him further into the hole he was digging for himself. She always knew how to reach him, so in his drunken haze he called her.

He never expected an answer (he still wonders why she answered, why she was up that late in the first place), but she picked up and just asked how he was- if he was okay. She sounded so  _ concerned _ for him- he never got that kind of care anymore, except from his mother.

_ “Chase? Uh- what’s up, are you okay?” The phone feels heavy in his hand- and so hot he thinks he’ll get burned. Actually, maybe it’s his face that’s burning, he can’t even tell any more. He’s sitting on the lawn staring out at the street. He could drive to her house right now, if he wasn’t convinced she’d send him back home. _

_ “Yeah, Gert. I’m… I’m okay. Are you? Okay, I mean.” God, he can’t even force the words out- talking to her so uncomfortably feels so wrong. He’s already sorry he’s doing this to her. _

_ “Yeah, I’m fine. You called me- what’s your deal? Is this a prank call? Jesus Christ-” He can hear her fumbling to hang up already, and he hurries to stop her. He can’t have her hate him- that’s not something he can handle on top of everything else.” _

_ “No! Gert, I just- I wanted to talk to you. Honest.” He softens his voice- this whole situation could be embarrassing, but it’s Gert and this is just how it works with her. She wouldn’t ever hurt him- not on purpose. He hears her sigh through the phone- then a sniffle. Oh God, he made her cry- this could not be going worse. _

_ “Talk about what?” she snaps. He knows he hurt her. This is all his fault- he drifted away from all the others and now everything is wrong. It’s not like he was the glue holding the group together, but it seems like without one of them they just can’t be whole anymore. Amy proves this every day (he still cries over her, at least once a week). _

_ “I miss you. I’m sorry, I know this is a shitty thing to do right now but I just- needed you to know. ‘Cause you guys don’t deserve any of this shit.” He can tell he sounds fucking miserable (he is), and it probably seems like he’s just digging for attention here, but these words have been clawing at his throat for over a year now. _

_ “You make it sound like you deserve it compared to the rest of us. I’m fine, Chase, really. You just drifted- it happens.” she mumbles. “None of us deserved this- least of all Amy, but it happened and we have to live with it. Just like drifting apart, I guess.” _

_ “It’s still not fair. You guys have so much ahead for you- Amy had so much ahead of her. This fucking sucks!” Now he’s angry at nothing. She’s right, none of this is changing- this phone call probably won’t change anything, and being angry about it won’t change anything either. “I’m sorry this is happening.” He stutters. _

_ “It’s not your fault. And you’re being affected by it, too, so I’m sorry.” She murmurs. She never sounds this soft anymore- and he listens to her whenever he can. It’s dumb, but it helps ground him sometimes- and anything even remotely grounding is a rarity nowadays. _

_ “I wish we could still…” He stops himself- because he knows what he’s about to say is undeniably wrong. They can still be friends- nothing’s stopping them. He just can’t stand to hurt her again. _

_ “What?” She’s almost chuckling. _

_ “Nothing. I’m sorry. ‘Night, Gert.” _

_ “Good night, Chase.” _

Chase had closed down pretty soon after that, because vulnerability was never something he’d been good at. He’s still not good at it, actually (he blames it on his father).

But it was almost better, because the looks they sent each other once in a blue moon were a bit softer, a little more encouraging. There was at least  _ something _ there (??). It made his heart happy to have something with Gert.

With all this is mind, Chase swallows his pride and walks over to the couch where they’re gathered. If they’re going to be together for now, he might as well right his wrongs.

~~~

They all mutually decide to sleep on the couches in the guest house together, and Alex drags in some mattresses. Nico’s fine with this, it’s just like it was when they were kids.

Minus one.

But, whatever, she can act like this is totally normal, because everybody else seems to have agreed to ignore the elephant in the room. So- she plops down right next to Karolina on the couch they shared when they were kids. Nothing’s changed. They love each other. Amy’s in the other room getting soda. They’re going to stay up late tonight playing video games with Alex while Chase and Gert play house with Molly.

They all did love each other, didn’t they? Maybe they still do- but she isn’t feeling love right now- she feels frustration. How easy would her life have been if this had never happened- if they’d never left each other’s side. She can blame it on the others, but she played just as big a part and she can’t change it now but  _ God- _ she’s spiraling.

They’re together now. The world is falling apart. 

Molly and Gert share a couch. Chase sleeps propped against said couch (for some weird ass reason she doesn’t care to think about). Alex should sleep on the matress, but she knows he’s awake.

And Karolina sleeps next to her. Breathing slow, sweet breaths. Nico thinks she breathes sunshine because she hasn’t felt this relaxed since the last time they shared this couch. She’s stumbling towards home, she thinks.

They wait days. And days.

A week passes. Something has to change.

~~~

“We should go.” Alex sighs. Molly’s heart sinks because she  _ knows _ Dale and Stacey will be crushed if they come home and find their girls gone- she just knows, okay?

“We can’t, Alex. Our parents are gonna come home- any day now.” She’s sniffling and her eyes  _ hurt _ , she’s on the brink of completely losing it. Someone please back her up here,  _ please.  _ Nobody does.

A few days ago, Gert, Chase, and Karo did. Then just Gert and Karo. Then Gert. Now they all look at her sadly, like she’s something to be pitied.

As if some divine fucking being is trying to prove it’s point, the power goes out. They knew it was coming- they’d planned, but now it’s actually happened and this all feels final. Walkers have meandered onto the Wilder property, and Molly knows they have no choice but to leave Brentwood behind. She saw a neighbor she talked to last week bite down on his wife when they’d gone to their house to get everything they needed.

At that point, she figured she’d be leaving this home behind, which seems to be a running theme for her- unwillingly leaving families, homes, whatever. This is no different, but she’s crumbling and hiding her face against Gert’s chest before she knows it.

Gert’s shaking and has definitely started crying, and suddenly they’re all gathered on the same couch in some weird rich-kid-crying-dog-pile. It’s okay. It helps.

Within the hour, they’re in a van that Chase’s dad had owned strictly for storage of parts and transporting said parts. He preferred classier cars (which he definitely had), but this has room for all of the literal and figurative baggage they’re carrying. They pack canned goods, all the water jugs they’d pooled together, their clothes, canisters of gas, anything else they think they may need and then they’re gone (but not without almost hitting a walker on the way out).

Gert’s driving (she doesn’t know where) and Karolina is sitting in the passenger seat next to her. It feels poetic, like them doing this was meant to be. She plays cards with Chase, Nico, and Alex to pass the time while they all brainstorm what to do- where to go. Eventually it just becomes a conversation about that, and she hates it, because it all feels so serious.

“We can’t go too far from Brentwood. We can still scrounge up supplies there when we need them.” Molly pipes up. If she gets a say in where they go, she should exercise that right and at least get herself a compromise. 

“Yeah, that’s… that’s smart, Molls. Okay, what other requirements?” Gert asks from the front seat- they make eye contact in the mirror.

“Secluded- quiet, at least. And secure.” Nico mutters.

“They’re zombies, how hard can it be to avoid them?” Alex asks.

“We’re avoiding raiders. Crazy comes out with the apocalypse, you should know this, nerd.” Nico says it with a tinge of softness- it’s kind of how they all talk to each other now. They’d caught up in the last few days- this feels like the new chapter, all that jazz.

“So, uh- where am I going, then?” Gert asks.

“I might know a place!” Chase chimes in. Gert looks back at him then to the empty road in front of her. Molly can tell Chase is just happy to be helpful to Gert, it’s how he’s always been.

“Okay, jockstrap. Get up here, you’re my navigator.” Gert smirks and only slows down a little bit while Chase and Karolina switch spots. Chase is as nonchalant as possible, making small conversation in between giving directions, until he really has to focus and guides Gert carefully through the mountains and to… an opening. 

Specifically, it’s a grate in a mountain, which he insists they walk through. Molly wonders if he’s done hard drugs recently, or is simply planning on killing them in this hole in a mountain. 

However, it’s the apocalypse, and everyone else is going (albeit hesitantly).

As they’re navigating through the dark tunnel a walker grabs Nico. Karolina stabs the thing in the head, and Nico clings to her the rest of the way there.

There’s an old hotel in the mountain. It’s perfect. They’re finally home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow i didn't mean to add that much pining so early on, but it's okay because we all knew it was coming.  
> anyways please feel free to leave thoughts and questions in the comments, it means the world to me!! (and follow my tumblr while you're at it, it's freckledpianoman, same as here!)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the runaways are cuddlebugs, and chase accidentally finds out the answer to all their questions!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiii i'm back! i've been staring at this chapter doing nothing for almost 2 months now. i actually had it pretty well started, then i got the flu and everything went to shit, but i managed to finish it! i really hope you enjoy, and stuff will finally start to pick up soon.

By the grace of some god, there’d been enough rooms for all of them to have their own. This is good- but Gert can’t sleep, so who cares where she is at night? She mostly wanders. This place is  _ huge _ , there’s lots to see- so that’s how she decides to pass the time. Sometimes she listens to the walkers right outside, also just wandering.

She feels bad, sometimes, about calling them walkers- it sounds dumb and it’s reducing who they were as people. They all had lives- people that loved them, a family. Just like what Gert had. She doesn’t know if she has that anymore- she definitely loves these people (though she won’t admit it to them), and they feel like family. But it feels like a betrayal to the people who raised her to so quickly call them family.

It’s only been three weeks since this all started, but it’s a lot like how it used to be- passing time with her friends, overthinking every little reaction that comes out of them. It’s good- they’re all good. Even Chase- he’s actually been great so far.

They haven’t talked about it, but she knows he’s not really missing his parents (she can’t even bring herself to say family, she  _ knows _ Victor Stein). And he does great with Molly, lets her vent when Gert simply can’t stand to listen anymore- it sends her into a panic sometimes, thinking that Molly is growing up  _ so _ fast.

She worries about other things, too. Their food will eventually run out- their water, too. They won’t drive anywhere to get more yet, they can’t waste the gas. To be honest, Gert doesn’t even want to leave the Hostel, because at least she can avoid the harsh realities in here. She can imagine another life in here. Maybe she’d still be with her friends in here, too- under better circumstances, of course.

She has her meds. She won’t take them, she can’t afford to waste them- but she has them. Gert’s trying to think on the bright side.

She’s working on cleaning up the bedroom she’s claimed for herself. It’s small and down the small hallway just across from Nico’s. Molly is on the other side of the landing, closer to Chase- that’s fine- just something she noticed.

She folds her sheets like her mom taught her- cleaning might calm her down, it never hurt before. She can hear her friends rattling around outside, talking, laughing as much as they can. Surprisingly, they’re all taking the whole apocalypse thing pretty well, and they get along  _ okay _ . 

Chase and Molly don’t have any problems, they just clicked together again (that makes her feel warm inside, that someone can love her sister almost as much as she does. She trusts him to take care of her). Nico and Karolina, too- they’re practically best friends again.

Alex and Nico… fight, a lot. Mostly over inventory crap- nothing Gert thinks they should be fighting over, but it’s obvious that tension from the past still hangs over them. 

Alex and Chase also fight- it’s never anything important. Chase just seems to  _ care _ more about what’s going on, while Alex is trying to seem as nonchalant as possible. She knows that he cares, but he’s already their de facto leader- and he thinks they’ll judge him for showing emotion.

Gert has definitely noticed that Alex is having a hard time overall, so she tries to go as easy on him as possible- sticks up for him, even when she can’t understand why he thinks the way that he does. She’ll play devil’s advocate for him because there seems to be an understanding between the two of them. 

Molly’s fine- which bothers Gert, because she’s the big sister, and she’s supposed to be the one who’s fine but she’s  _ not. _ This is all too much- she’s so tired.

She’s done cleaning- her room is as organized as she can possibly make it, so she might as well go downstairs and check up on everyone. She does it when she’s not worrying about herself- she worries about the others. She always feels like she’s worrying.

Chase and Molly are sitting on one of the couches they’d found in here, so she plops down next to Molly and looks over her shoulder. She’s reading Anne of Green Gables- Gert may or may not have decided that literature was something they needed to bring with them.

“Whatcha readin’?” Her throat’s dry, because she’s trying to save water and she thinks she had some last night before bed. Maybe. Admittedly, she’s not really brushing close to the daily limit she’s set for herself- it leaves more for the future, so it’s fine.

“You’ve read it a million times, I don’t know why you bother asking.” Molly’s still a teenager (they all are, technically), which means sometimes she just  _ snaps _ . This isn’t necessarily her snapping- she’s just tired of Gert mother henning her. At least that’s what Gert has gathered.

She tries to back off, but she’s scared that’ll hurt Molly. She has to keep Molly safe- that’s all that matters now.

“I just… wanted to know if you had anything to say about it, I guess. You like it?” Chase has looked up from his pile of spare parts- she’s not sure what he’s doing with them, but he seems to be enjoying himself at least.

“Yeah- it’s good.” Molly sighs, brushing Gert off. Gert nods and surprises herself by turning to Chase.

“What are you working on, Chase?” She sounds  _ sick _ . She should go get a drink from the kitchen, but she’ll ignore that in favor of checking up on Chase. Just this once.

“Uh- nothing important. Just putting stuff together, I guess.” He makes sheepish eye contact when he says it, which is something she’s always like about Chase- he faces (most of) his problems head on. She can’t do that, so she respects that he can.

“Got any ideas? Some cool gadget or something?” She shifts over and looks closer at what he’s got in his hands. It’s a small L-shaped thing that he rotates between his fingers.

“I’m not sure you’d exactly… Appreciate what I made it for.” He’s looking away now- coward. 

“Something I’m not smart enough to get?”

“What? No! It’s uh- morally, I mean. It’s to pick locks? On, like, cars.”

“You want to break into cars?” She stammers. Besides all the moral connotations- that’s dangerous and  _ stupid _ . He’s one of the smartest people she knows, but somehow still one of the dumbest.

“Not now! Just- eventually- if it comes to that. There are a bunch abandoned on the highway and… I figure someone has to take that stuff, and smashing the windows will draw walkers, right?” He stutters, face turning bright red. “If you don’t want to, we don’t have to. This only took me, like, five minutes. It’s okay.” He’s so careful around her, like she might crumble if he says the wrong thing. She might, so she’s glad he seems to understand.

“I mean- no, it’s not a bad idea. Just, it feels early to start breaking into places, so- shelve that idea for later?” She tilts her head away and he chuckles.

“Consider the idea shelved, then.”

She loves that about Chase- that’s he so understanding.

~~~

Karolina thinks that the apocalypse may or may not be the best things that’s happened to her in a long time. Sure- it’s stressful, your life hanging on whether or not you can salvage resources correctly, and if you can avoid being bitten. But she’s with her friends.

She’s almost always with Nico nowadays- they snapped back together like when they were kids- they confide in each other, play card games together (just the two of them, when they can get away with it), and they’re having a sleepover tonight.

Karolina can’t really sleep alone, if she’s honest- and she didn’t think stuffed animals were high on the list of things she needed. She’ll learn to sleep alone eventually, she figures- but Nico offered a sleepover and who was she to say no? Nico seems to always know what she’s thinking- and she acts on it. 

They care about each other- that much is obvious and it makes Karolina feel like she’s flying. She’s mostly just ecstatic that they have their family back. It all seems selfish, because she knows how taxing this is for the others. Gert’s not sleeping, that much is already obvious by the dark circles under her eyes- and Alex is already overworking himself trying to ration everything to last. He’d said that ideally they wouldn’t have to go for food for at least a month or two, they could just avoid the initial outbreak altogether.

That’s smart- but a teenager shouldn’t have to think like that, especially alone, so Chase and Nico have also been helping him work it out- and they all work together to take care of the Hostel (Gert does a lot of the work, and insists that she doesn’t want to act like a housewife in the situation, she’s taking care of herself by keeping the place clean. She’s stress cleaning, basically).

When she’d said that, Chase had beamed and offered to help clean out one of the dirtier rooms that Gert was about to get started on. They all ended up going in there together and they got it all cleared out pretty quickly.

Karolina should head to Nico’s room soon- there’s no reason to stall, they live in the same house. She’s just  _ nervous _ \- it’s so reminiscent of what they would do when they were children that she’s scared the nostalgia might hit her like a bus and she’ll make a fool of herself.

She could definitely see herself crying happy tears about spending time with Nico again- which she  _ knows _ Nico wouldn’t make fun of, she should just avoid it if she can. She doesn’t want any of the others to worry- she knows what it’s like to worry about them, ‘cause she can never seem to stop doing it. Even when they weren’t “friends” she worried for them.

_ Oh _ . She can say that now, she just realized. They’re  _ friends again. _

She flops back onto her bed and just  _ smiles _ , because while this isn’t the life she always imagined for them, it could be worse.

Suddenly, her door swings open and Nico peers through. Her hair’s up in a messy bun and she’s wearing one of Karo’s shirts, because they’ve all started getting into the habit of sharing clothes.

“Thought you fell asleep or something.” Nico laughs, plopping onto the bed next to Karolina’s head. Nico starts to play with her hair and her heart flutters (just a little bit, shh).

“No, I was just thinking.” She considers sitting up to talk with Nico eye to eye, but Nico’s hand is still carding through her hair and it may be just a little too nice to stop. So she just lets her face turn red and she grins.

“About?”

“My weird ass friends.” She giggles like a schoolgirl-  _ what is happening to her? _

Nico scoffs and smirks down at Karolina. “Am I included as a weird ass friend of yours, Karolina?” Karolina blushes- fuck inhibitions, if Nico’s talking to her Karolina is  _ glowing _ , there’s no way around it.

“You’re the weirdest,  _ duh _ .” Nico moves her hand from Karolina’s hair and flicks the blonde in the cheek.

“Now, that’s just rude. Shall we go to my room, your highness?” Nico holds out her hand and helps Karolina up, then leads her to her room, still holding her hand- they laugh at inside jokes as they flop back onto Nico’s bed, and everything is right for once.

~~~

Alex is relatively used to stress. He got good grades, which meant he spent a lot of his time studying and doing homework- working in every little thing he could for his daily schedule. This is a new level of stress- managing the food and supplies for all six of them like their lives depend on it. They do.

He can’t stand to do the math wrong, miscount, anything, because it’ll all just lead to a huge mess for all of them- and he can’t put that on them.

Luckily, Nico and Chase are eager to help, otherwise he thinks he may have already died of a stroke. Chase has been helping him fix up the rooms (along with Gert, which he thinks may or may not have something to do with it, but he gets the job done, so whatever), fix anything they break, any techy crap Alex can’t find time to do, basically.

Nico has basically been on crowd control, she checks in on everybody, arranges meetings, and also counts all their rations, just in case Alex screws up. And she’s also working on convincing him to take an early supply run, while there’s still stuff out there.

He can see her point, but along with being familiar with stress, Alex Wilder is incredibly familiar with  _ anxiety _ . He’s perfectly content with staying right here in the Hostel until they absolutely have to leave. It’s not the  _ best _ idea, but in theory it will keep them the safest- keep them alive longer.

It’s bad that he thinks of it like that- the length of their lives over the quality, but there’s really not much he can do to improve the quality without risking getting them killed. It feels like a competition- World vs Alex.

Luckily, he’s not alone in wanting to hole up here- Gert is absolutely against leaving, and Karolina seems inclined to stay as well (though Nico may convince her otherwise, he’s noticed they’ve gotten close over the three weeks since this all started).

Chase wants to go, probably because he has cabin fever and has been mother henning all of them since this started- Alex can tell he’s willing and prepared to give up rations for the others, which isn’t necessary. Yet.

Molly wants to go back to Brentwood, simply to see if there’s any sign on their parents- nobody’s willing to tell her that there’s a good chance they may never come back. That actually starts this whole conversation over whether or not they should track down their parents. Alex just decides to ask them: “Okay, so who wants to find our parents, then?”

Molly’s hand shoots up, of course, as well as Karolina’s. Gert’s  _ sort of _ goes up in a so-so gesture, which he’ll count as a vote for yes. Alex, Nico, and Chase just look around awkwardly. It’s not that Alex  _ doesn’t  _ want to find his parents- he just cares more about this group’s survival at this point.

Molly pouts and sinks into the couch. “If we combine forces with them, won’t it be better in the long run? I mean, they’re our  _ parents _ , they can take care of us better than anyone. Right?” Chast shifts uncomfortably and nods, patting Molly’s shoulder.

“I mean, I get what she’s saying, guys.” Molly smiles up at him and Gert visibly relaxes. Oh God, he’s gonna have to tack on finding their parents onto their todo list.

“Yeah, but there’s always a chance they’re already… dead. And then we’ll be wasting time on looking for them and not looking out for ourselves. We can’t risk it.” Nico crosses her arms, in her signature  _ I’m not going to argue with you _ stance.

“What if we just go back and get supplies, and while we’re at it, we’ll leave notes for them? That way, if they come back they’ll know where to find us and we can just go about our lives. Like, a compromise.” Chase suggests. Molly definitely looks less distraught than she did a second ago, and honestly Alex can see his point.

If their parents don’t show up, it wasn’t for their lack of trying, they can just say they did their best and move on with it. Hopefully they can just avoid the hurt altogether.

“Fine. We’ll go in a week, three people. I’ll be one, who else?”

Chase raises his hand, along with Nico. Molly looks like she wants to raise her hand, but Chase stops her.

“Molls, you can write your note and I’ll take it to your house for you, ‘kay?” 

She beams and turns to hug him. “Thanks, Chase.” Both his and Gert’s faces are simultaneously turning red, and he just smiles and hugs her back. Chase acting like a big brother to Molly will always be inevitable, Alex thinks.

“Of course, kiddo.”

After that, they all sort of float out of the room at different times. Gert goes to the kitchen- she’s started making dinner for all of them if she’s nervous, no matter how many times they tell her she doesn’t have to (being productive “calms her down”?). Chase not so subtly trails after her, and Molly just sinks back into the couch with one of the books Gert brought. Nico and Karolina just nod at him and walk off together- Alex almost feels like he’s playing the bad guy but somebody has to, and they need a plan if they’re going to survive this. And they have to survive this- they can’t lose each other.

~~~

Chase doesn’t know why he does it, but that night he shows up at Gert’s door and does what he’s been waiting to do for almost two years. When she opens the door and her face twists (hopefully in confusion, not disgust), he almost falters, but he manages to say it: “Hey, I can’t sleep so I was wondering if you just wanted to talk for a little while? To pass the time, I mean.”

He’s scared she’ll turn him away, simply because these past couple weeks she’s seemed to be avoiding talking to him at all costs. Thankfully, she grins after an excruciatingly silent five seconds and opens her door a little wider. “Sure, why not?”

Gert’s room is surprisingly clean, especially compared to the rest of the Hostel- she has all her stuff stacked and sorted, and the bed is made (as well as it can be with the sheets she has to work with). “Damn, you set this place up nice.” He quips, hoping to coax her into a conversation with him- they’ve talked over the last couple of weeks, but it’s all been stilted and  _ weird _ since they got to the Hostel.

“Yeah, I guess having everything where I can find it just helps me… declutter my mind, if that makes sense?” She shrugs and motions for him to sit next to her on the bed. Is this progress, having a casual conversation,  _ not _ tripping over his words? It feels like some sort of progress, finally. To be completely honest, Gert’s intimidating- she knows how to talk to people, how to analyze them, and that has always and probably will always freak him out. 

“Makes total sense- gotta prioritize, right? Find anything interesting in here?” She’s sitting cross-legged and leaned against the wall her bed is pressed against- it feels like she’s gazing straight into his soul- like she can tell how hard he’s trying to make this normal. 

Thankfully, she shrugs. “Mostly junk, but whoever lived here before it sank into the ground had good taste in literature, I found some stuff by Simone de Beauvoir just  _ laying around _ . So, at least I’ll have something to do other than worrying about zombies. You find anything worth mentioning?”

Chase laughs softly, “Uh, a lot of weird posters for old-timey magicians, and a surprising amount of taxidermied animals.” Gert snorts and rolls to stare up at her ceiling.

“What do you think the person who lived here was like? So far I’ve gotten feminist magician with an appreciation for… dead animals being strung up on their walls.” Chase shifts cautiously to lay next to her, and they end up laying side by side staring at her empty ceiling.

“Well, maybe they were just, like- a magician’s fanatic. Who liked dead animals and Simone de… y’know.” He avoids looking at her, because there’s a decent chance she’s scowling at him, but she shrugs and he catches a glimpse of a smile in his peripheral vision.

“Guess we’ll have to team up and look for clues to figure it out. We could make this a whole story.” She reasons, nudging him with her elbow.

“Definitely- this person doesn’t stand a chance against us psychoanalyzing them.” Chase isn’t stupid, and he’d probably take literally any opportunity to team up with Gert- he’ll even read Simone de Beauvoir, if it comes to that.

~~~

It takes a while for Nico and Alex to track Chase down the next morning, because he’s not in his room. He’s in Gert’s, cuddled up to her- Nico would like to be doing the same thing with Karolina right now, but they have a job to do. They promised to put in the work, and Nico Minoru doesn’t like to break promises. 

So, she walks over to the bed as quietly as possible and nudges Chase’s shoulder. He groans and tucks his face into the crook of Gert’s neck- Jesus Christ, she’s never seen two people be more oblivious than them. She flicks the back of his neck and he shifts over to look at her. “Dude, come on- we’ve gotta go.” She has to fight off her grin, and she can hear Alex quietly losing his shit at the doorway.

Chase just nods- she’s not even sure he’s functioning yet, but he manages to peel himself from around Gert and sneak out of the bed, rubbing his eyes and casting what could only be described as a look of pure longing back at Gert before Nico closes the door behind them. She smacks him on the back (gently-ish) and tells him to go get dressed, they’re leaving in ten.

Then it’s just her and Alex. They’ve been fighting, and she knows she hasn’t been easy on him in the past three weeks, but she’s working on it, okay? It’s a lot- trying to understand someone who misses her sister probably just as much as she does.

“While we’re out, if there’s not too many walkers or anything, uh- we should like, experiment with them.” Alex says, pretty much out of nowhere.

“Experiment… how, exactly?” Of course, Nico’s immediate reaction is to question him- it’s pretty much ingrained into her nature now, like she said, she’s working on it.

“How to kill them, how they navigate, stuff like that. So we know- just in case.” He shrugs. But it’s obvious he’s been thinking about this- worrying about this. She feels bad for not thinking of it, too. Understanding walkers could be the difference between life and death for them. It’s a good idea.

“Oh, yeah. Good idea.” She murmurs reluctantly. She thinks she sees him smile out of the corner of her eye as she turns and sees Chase walking out of his room and towards them, looking considerably more aware.

“You guys ready?” He asks, and Nico notices his face is kind of red when he glances at Gert’s door. She snorts.

“Yeah, the sooner we leave the sooner you and Gert can cuddle up to each other, right?” She teases. He just looks away and shrugs. He’s dumb, because Nico can tell he thinks Gert doesn’t really like him- but she does, she’s just scared. Maybe she’ll tell him that.

~~~

Outside of the Wilder’s house, they manage to smack some walkers around long enough to find out two very important things- they guide on smell and sound, and they die if you destroy the brain.

So at least they can go back home knowing they got something done, because they find just about fuck all else in Alex’s house- it looks like raiders have been in here, but that’s a scary idea to consider, so they ignore that, leave Alex’s note on the kitchen table and head past the Yorkes’ house, which is overrun. Chase mentions that he’ll leave Molly’s note in his house instead.

At the Minoru’s house, they find some food, water, and clothes. There’s not much else to take, and they’re not to the point of siphoning gas yet. Not much at the Dean house either. 

At the Stein house, however, they find everything. First aid kits, a various collection of meds, some alcohol (which really isn’t all that important, it’s just nice to have), and answers. While Nico and Alex are searching the first and second floors of his house, Chase is in the basement lab- where this all started.

He’s just trying to find tools, honestly- but he ends up finding a video. He watches PRIDE put a young girl in a glowing box about three times before he shouts for Alex and Nico, who he watches it with three more times. He’s never seen Alex look so sick in his life as he demands they look around more.

On his father’s computer, they find emails detailing the girl’s sacrifice. Her name was Destiny. She was a runaway, like them. She came back (which wasn’t even supposed to happen in the first place), and even then she came back worse than they could have imagined. She reanimated as a walker. She started this. Their  _ parents started this. _

After peeling out of there as quickly as possible, it’s brought up in the van that they have to tell the others.  _ Shit.  _ Chase can imagine Gert and Molly’s heartbreak now, hear it echoing in his brain, their questions. He doesn’t want to hurt them like that. Alex sort of echoes the same idea, but Nico shuts that down as quickly as she can.

“We have to tell them. My mom always told me that no matter how well you hide a secret, it’ll come out eventually. This is just proof of that, and if we keep this from them, then we’re the same as our parents.” Okay, yeah, that’s fair. Chase can keep secrets, but keeping this secret, and thinking about the others finding out is even scarier than telling them.

Molly cries into Chase’s shoulder when they tell the others. Admittedly, he might tear up a little bit as he comforts her (but he won’t say that out loud). Nico leads a sickly looking Karolina back to her room, and Gert wanders off with Alex, both red in the face and ranting. Eventually they all agree, though- at least we know.

~~~

Karolina is sniffling into Nico’s shoulder, and honestly she does not plan on leaving. This is a nightmare- her religion is a lie, her  _ life _ has all been one big lie. Nico runs a hand through her hair and murmurs encouraging words into her ear, stuff like  _ I’m here for you, I promise we’ll fix this. _ Anything to help.

And it is helping, but it’s also a problem, because now Karolina can’t help but shiver as Nico runs a hand over her hip, and she feels butterflies rise in her stomach.  _ Shit. _

Okay, so- Karolina Dean has a crush on Nico Minoru again. Not necessarily a surprise, but Karo was hoping she could avoid these feelings for at least another month. When they were kids, it took all her willpower to not tell Nico, and that was when she was in a good state of mind. She’s gonna burst eventually, and she’s not exactly ready to be rejected.

Before Karo falls asleep, she hears Nico whisper in her ear, “I really missed you. Not just today, but um- after Amy, everything. You were the one I missed most.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god gertchase and deanoru are so soft for each other, i didn't mean to move their relationships along so fast but like it's obvious they love each other and i know y'all like the fluffy stuff. also i did not edit this chapter, i just wanted to get it done and posted, so please excuse my mistakes.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Chase is an engineering nerd, I’m a computer nerd.”
> 
> “Wow, star-crossed lovers, then?”
> 
> “Totally.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm back!! and i actually really liked writing this chapter and feel really good about it! tell me what you think in the comments please and thanks, it helps me get more shit done and posted!

_ This is weird, right?  _ Gert thinks as she stares down at breakfast (rice and beans, they can’t waste too much on a meal half of them won’t even bother to try). Chase is sitting across from her doodling in a notebook and has been for ten minutes- they haven’t said a word to each other. She thinks he ended up spending the night in her room the night before last and now everything’s weird because that carries  _ a lot _ of implications.

She thinks maybe that’s a bit regressive, though, because they had been making progress- and maybe it wasn’t weird and she’s  _ making  _ it weird? She can’t even think straight, she’s still half asleep if she’s being perfectly honest. She didn’t really sleep last night- she refuses to acknowledge that sleeping next to him was the most relaxed she’s felt in, like, three years. She should talk to him.

“Hey, so… thanks, for being so good with Molly. When I couldn’t be. I just… the fact that they did this is so fucking infuriating. Like- those are the people that raised us, and now I can’t even decide how to feel about them.” She doesn’t mean to ramble- she’d basically said the same shit while ranting to Alex last night, but she needs to start the conversation with something.

Chase glances up from his drawing and smiles that stupid grin he always wears whenever they talk. “Of course, I love Molls- and if she needs me I’ll be there for her. I mean- same goes for all of you, obviously.” He chuckles, and  _ shit this is still awkward. _

“Good to know, then.” She shrugs, and decides that she can’t do this anymore. It’s just  _ weird _ , cause they have that history and, like, three weeks ago she hated his guts and now she can rely on him? Maybe?

“Uh, actually- I’ve been meaning to talk to you, and tell you that I’m sorry. For how I acted before all of this, I was a total douche to all of you for no reason,  _ you  _ especially. And… you didn’t deserve that, and I’m really, really sorry.” Chase blurts.  _ Great,  _ she thinks,  _ I’m dreaming.  _ She slides a hand over her arm to pinch herself and when she looks back up Chase is still sitting there expecting… something. A reaction, an answer, probably.

“Oh. Yeah- I guess it was kind of mutual, though?” She can’t decide if she hates this. This is progress, but it’s also awkward as hell and she’s just… feeling a lot of emotions right now. 

“Jesus- it feels good to get that off my chest, it’s been weighing on me, for like, six months.” He admits, sighing and slumping in his seat.

“Six months?” She chokes. This shit has only been going on for a couple  _ weeks _ , and he’s been waiting to say this to her for half of a whole year? Okay, so, they’ve wasted time.

“Yeah- I was just… After Amy, I was in a really bad place with my dad, and I realize that and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you, but apologizing to you when I thought you would totally shoot me down just seemed… wrong. Like, I could never tell you enough to really make you understand that I know what I did was wrong and you don’t deserve that. At all- from anyone.” Now he’s rambling and it’s honestly… kind of sweet. That he’s been thinking about this, about  _ her _ for so long.

But, of course, she naturally has to tease him- he deserves it though, right? “Are you saying I might be too stubborn to accept an apology, Stein?” She scoffs lightly.  _ PleasedonttakethisthewrongwayI’mnotactuallymadPleasedonttakethisthewrongwayI’mnotactuallymad _ runs through her head instantly. She’s gonna be so pissed if she screwed this up for herself.

“What? You? Stubborn? Maybe in another life.” He jokes back and she  _ has  _ to breathe a sigh of relief. They’re back! Like, this officially means they’ve talked about it, and they can just… be friends now.

She snorts softly. “Yeah, I forgive you, dude. Sorry for calling you an idiot all those times.”

~~

Alex physically cannot take the pressure of this anymore. Nobody forced him to play leader, he did this to himself- but oh God, this is stressful. He’s stubborn, but he’s not an idiot- he needs help. So he asks Nico and Chase.

No offense to the others, but they seem to be the least emotional about the PRIDE situation, and that’s really what he needs right now, so  _ he  _ can be at least a little bit emotional because those were his parents and now all of his friends are his responsibility.  _ This sucks _ .

“So, I wanted to ask you guys if you’d help me out with, like, decision making. Leading. I’m in way over my head, honestly.” That feels  _ great _ to admit. He tries to put up a tough exterior, but everyone needs a break (or breakdown) sometimes.

Nico actually laughs at that and crosses her arms. “I was wondering when you’d ask for help. Sure, dude- just tell us where you need us.” She doesn’t really ask Chase for his opinion, and he doesn’t speak up, so Alex assumes that’s a resounding yes.

The first decision they make is that they should have a game night, which mostly consists of card games, because that’s what they brought with them.

Alex has missed this- having people to rely on, to love.

After the games are over, Karolina approaches him, which is definitely  _ new _ , because they were never that personally close as kids, but he doesn’t hate it. 

“So, uh. Nico told me you were a little stressed so I just wanted to… thank you, I guess. For being there for all of us, and if you need anything, I’m your girl.” It’s awkward but also probably the sweetest thing he could’ve asked for right now. He’s always felt a little weird with Karolina- they’re friends, but they’ve also both always clung to Nico, and while it’s not technically a competition, sometimes it felt like it could be- especially after Amy.

“And I was thinking that since we know what PRIDE did now… we could go to the church and poke around. Pretty unlikely there’d be anyone there to stop us and we could see if there were any supplies.” Alex knows what she means, though. She mostly just wants to snoop, probably see how deep her mother’s secrets run. Which is totally fair! Out of all the PRIDE kids, Karolina was definitely living a more family-oriented lifestyle, considering her family ran a church (cult?) together.

“Oh. Yeah, I mean- that could be a good idea.” He shrugs, “only problem would be walkers, though. Probably more near the church considering all the people in that area, we’d have to be really careful.” Karolina bites her lip and nods resolutely.

“Yeah, well we know how to kill them- so we will if we have to.” The problem with that is that they’ll have to take the people willing to actually do the deed- no room for mistakes. A mistake could mean someone dying.

“You sure you’re up for killing one?” He asks and she hesitates before nodding.

“If it comes down to saving one of our lives, of course. I’m not a baby.” 

“Then I guess you can choose who goes with us.” Alex hasn’t been able to call someone his friend in two years, definitely not Karolina or any of the other PRIDE kids- but this feels like friendship. They all trust each other- would kill for each other if it came down to it.

He can breathe. He’s not alone in this.

~~

Gert hasn’t really been sleeping much lately- the last good night of sleep she got was probably when she had Chase in her room- that’s not to give him the credit of helping her fall asleep, conversation just helps. And it’s not like it’s a super weird thing anymore, they’re friends now, it’s the apocalypse- technically she can do what she wants and nobody else can judge her. It’s not bad if she just thinks it, right?

Thinks that having Chase next to her was probably the easiest she’s breathed since this whole thing started. It’s not for any particular reason, but ever since they were kids, Gert has felt like she had a duty to at least keep an eye out for Chase (even if she didn’t feel the need, her eyes would always end up on him when he entered a room- old habits die hard). Chase is just… softer. 

He puts on this whole tough guy exterior but he was always the one to cry at movies when they were kids and he always needed a light on in the room when he slept. That’s something she likes about him, a lot- he doesn’t fight tooth and nail to hide his emotions when he trusts you, and they have that trust now. 

But there’s always been something she feels like she doesn’t know. Either that, or he’s got the mysterious-cool-dude thing down really well. Because obviously they’ve confided in each other before, but he’s leaving something unspoken, she  _ knows  _ it. 

She can’t push, though. She’s just gotten him back, she can’t scare him off now- so she’ll wait. Someday maybe he’ll be ready, or maybe he won’t, but it’s not a huge deal because its not like she feels like not knowing every inane detail about him makes them any less close, she just worries about him.

She’s especially worried when he knocks on her door just as she’s started to doze off. Her watch reads two am, but who knows how many seconds or minutes or hours that thing could be off by at this point. Doesn’t matter, really.

She sits up and softly asks, “yeah?” before he’s shuffling into her room awkwardly, face hidden in the shadows that her dim candle casts. She was just about to blow that thing out, too. “What’s up?” She asks gingerly.

“I, uh- I couldn’t sleep so I thought I’d come see if you were up. You’re… pretty good company.” He huffs awkwardly. He’s never done this before- actively sought her out like this in the middle of the night. She doesn’t mind, obviously, it’s just weird- he’s almost always been the first asleep and last awake, ever since they were kids.

“Oh, am I? Glad you think so.” She shrugs and moves over on her bed, patting the space she’d created. “Come sit, then.” He shuffles over and gingerly lowers himself onto the bed, stretching his legs out next to her’s, but avoiding touching them together. She wants to scream, because they’ve already slept in the same bed before (multiple times, if you include sleepovers as kids), and this is a boundary she’s willing to let him cross- something just seems so  _ off  _ about this. She could ask, or she could just wait ‘til he’s ready to talk- at this point, she’s not sure which would be the riskier decision. But… she should be there for him, right? Let him know he can open up? “Everything okay?” She asks cautiously.

“Uh… yep. It’s dumb, actually, I just had a nightmare. Freaked me out being alone, I guess. And I thought I heard you up, so I figured I’d come in here and see if you wanted to talk or something. Guess I got lucky, huh?” He nudges her shoulder lightly and she snorts.

“Luck has nothing to do with it, Chase. If you need something you can always come to me, even if I’m totally pissed at you or trying to sleep.” She doesn’t mean to be that frank about it- it just happens, but that doesn’t make it any less true, she wants to be around for all of them, especially Chase. She rarely sees him be vulnerable, and she knows that’s got to have a negative effect over time, so for him to show her that side means… a lot. Carries a lot of implications, anyways.

She must be lucky, because his face actually lights up- a switch flips and all that tension is gone. It’s just them and everything they carry with them, and she’s okay with that. It almost feels like they’re back to how things were, so different but so oddly alike and  _ constant _ . She’s actually more than okay with that.

~~

In the morning, Molly and Gert shuffle downstairs to eat a quick breakfast with Alex and Karolina before the supply run to the church. Gert’s actually fairly pleasant, Karolina notes- looks a lot more energized that she has in the past few days, and while she still has dark circles under her eyes, they haven’t gotten any worse.

That’s good, it makes Karolina more confident in her choice to bring Gert along for the mission- besides the fact that bringing Gert felt like a given if she took Molly, Gert’s resourceful and can keep a cool head in a dangerous situation, despite her anxiety. 

Molly’s coming because she’s surprisingly strong for being the youngest member of the team, and because cabin fever is really starting to have its way with her. Somebody’s gonna have to let her out of here eventually, and hopefully this will be a fairly easy mission.

Alex is obviously preparing for the worst, though, as he triple checks that they all have something to defend themselves with and know the danger signal- three whistles, one long, two short. It makes Karo sad that they have to consider something like this, but this is their life now, at least that’s how Nico’s been putting it two her during their late night rants to each other.

Nico’s a whole other topic to take up Karolina’s thoughts, luckily they’re all good thoughts, mostly wondering if she might feel the same as Karo. They’ve been sharing a bed literally every night, and they’ve gotten scarily vulnerable over the past few days and nights spent together- so that has to mean something, right?

“Karrie, you okay?” Molly asks with her mouth half full, which Gert promptly kicks her under the table for. Molly kicks back gently and returns her sights to Karolina.

“Yeah, of course- just thinking about our parents, I guess.” That stills the quiet conversation Gert and Alex were having, causing the room to fill with stagnant air, just dust floating around and all of them waiting for someone else to say something.

It’s not something any of them really like dredging up- their parents are responsible for this, but they’re also completely MIA. No contact since the start of all of this about a month ago, and they’ve checked all the houses: nothing. Their notes still sit exactly where they left them.

“What about ‘em?” Alex asks carefully, like one of the girls might snap at him for carrying the conversation.

“I’m just wondering where they are- why they haven’t come back for us. Do you… Do you think they’re dead?” Molly huffs quietly and Gert lifts her eyebrows in surprise. Maybe the apocalypse has made Karolina more frank.

“Honestly?” Alex asks, waiting for her to nod. “I think they’re out there. I just… have this feeling, I guess. They started this and it doesn’t seem right for them to get killed by it so soon- karma hasn’t even struck yet.”

Gert scoffs and Molly just looks plain uncomfortable. “You make it sound like you want this to kill them, Alex.”

“Wouldn’t that be fair, though? They murdered people, Gert. Teenagers- they started this and they shouldn’t get to just ignore the consequences.” Alex challenges, setting his shoulders like that might make Gert back down.

“They’re still our  _ parents,  _ dude. What if they had a good reason? What if there’s another explanation?” Gert chokes and Karolina knows that this is her holding onto hope that they might have some semblance of a normal family life if this apocalypse shit ever blows over.

“Another explanation for murdering fifteen people? Jesus, Gert.”

“Alex, stop.” Karolina snaps. “We don’t know  _ anything _ , really- just something we saw without context. Maybe Gert’s right, and maybe you’re right, we don’t know.”

He leans back in his chair and breathes slowly in through his nose. “Fine. Sorry, you guys are right, we don’t know, which is why we’re going on this mission in the first place.” 

Molly nods and glances at Gert, who shrugs.

“On that note, are we ready to go?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

~~

They roll up to the street the Church sits on and immediately face a glaring issue- there’s debris  _ everywhere. _ Alex groans and starts maneuvering the van around, trying to park as close to the entrance as possible, just in case. He doesn’t wanna say it to the others, but he’s worried about this- the Church is a lot more central than anywhere else they’ve scavenged and he’s afraid they’ll run into someone. Hopefully not, though.

This isn’t even a run for supplies, though, this is more important- this is to get answers. Alex hopes that wondering about their parents isn’t only keeping  _ him _ up late into the night and the others are as curious about it as he is, because at this point it’s starting to feel like an obsession. He just… He has to know if they meant for this to happen. And if they meant to leave their kids.

He gets as far towards the church as he can without popping a tire and they all pile out of the van, Karolina’s brow pinched as she looks up at the pristine building.

He gets it- this was basically a second home to her, and now she knows what was going on behind the scenes. It sucks. But she’d told him before that she could handle this- that she wants to know, so they’re going to find out. 

The church actually doesn’t look as bad as other buildings on the street, mostly just overgrown plants and all the crap in the parking lot. No walkers so far. They’re prepared for that to change, though.

They all look at Karolina and she nods. “Let’s go, I guess.” 

As they walk around piles of draft wood, garbage, and various torn up sheets of metal, Alex realizes something. “What if there’s passwords in here? Do you know how to get through?” 

Karolina doesn’t slow as she shrugs, “If I can’t figure it out, there’ll be nobody here to stop us from putting a hole through the wall, so I’m not too worried about it.” Gert smirks and nudges Karo with her shoulder.

“I like where your head’s at, blondie. Sure you’re up for tearing up your church?”

Karolina smiles a bit- genuine, but a little bit pained. “Of course. If it means getting answers, then it’s more important than anything else could be.”

Alex tries the door as they approach it, and surprisingly it swings right open. The (frankly ridiculous) amount of windows light up the foyer of the church, which has obviously been used recently. What if there are squatters in here? 

“Okay. Everyone be on your guard, don’t get cornered by anything, walker or not.” Alex commands quietly, just in case there’s anyone in here.

“Molly can come up with me to the third floor. Gert and Alex, you got the second?” Karo asks, almost whispering. They’re all nervous now.

“Sure.” Gert grins. “Guess you’re stuck with me, Alex.” Alex watches as Karo and Molly disappear through the stairwell then turns to Gert.

“Well, it could be worse- I could be stuck with Chase.” He chuckles and Gert snorts.

“He’s not that bad, is he?”

“We have like  _ nothing _ in common. It’s always weird having to carry a conversation with him. Maybe we’ll get better at it eventually, though.” Alex sighs as they walk up the main staircase and into a back hallway.

“You’re both kind of engineering nerds, though, right?” She asks.

“Chase is an engineering nerd, I’m a computer nerd.”

“ _ Wow,  _ star-crossed lovers, then?”

“Totally.”

Gert tries the first door they come across and it practically groans as she forces it in, letting Alex past her and following him in. It’s probably a storage room, considering all the boxes stacked wall to floor in here. 

“Jesus. Either someone packed all this shit  _ before _ or there are people coming in here.” Gert murmurs, opening the first box she finds. There’s a shit ton of books and she examines one of the dusty covers. “Ooh, Gibb jib- I’ll just leave that here.”

“Not interested in accepting the light, Gertrude?”

“Not even a little bit. I’ll go wiccan before I do that.”

They dig through a couple more boxes when they hear a thunk upstairs. Both their heads snap up, Gert dropping the white scarf she was wrapping around her shoulders.

“Should we go check on them?” She whispers, obviously thoroughly freaked out.

“I mean… They’d give the signal if they needed us, right? At least they’d scream or something?”

“Yeah… Yeah. Let’s keep going? There’s not shit in here.” She swallows and he nods hesitantly.

They continue into the next room- completely empty, probably a meditation chamber, as are the next three rooms. They’re heading into the fifth when they hear footsteps coming down the stairs- practically tumbling down the stairs, actually. Then three whistles, two long, one short.  _ Shit. _

Molly and Karo come barreling down the stairs, trailed by two people dressed in all white- church members?

Without thinking about it, Gert and Alex all take off towards the van, all four of them racing down the stairs and out the door.

Alex glances back and sees the two church members from earlier, plus a third with a glaring red stain on his left pant leg.  _ Blood. _

They throw themselves into the van, Alex immediately tearing out of the parking lot and onto the street, speeding towards home as Gert turns to interrogate the other two.

“Holy shit,  _ Molls _ .” She breathes and climbs into the back of the van, grabbing Molly’s arm. “What happened?” Alex glances in the rearview mirror to see that Molly’s upper arm is bleeding- not terribly, but it was obviously cut open by something.

“Jesus Christ, Molly.” He chokes and Molly groans, scooting away from Gert.

“Chill, it’s not a big deal. Just… they caught us off guard and we were trying to deescalate the situation and I made a dumb mistake, it’s  _ fine _ .” Molly’s obviously shaken up, but her bright red face could also be attributed to embarrassment. Damnit.

“What happened, Karolina?” Gert asks, not moving to grab Molly again.

“They got into the room while we had our backs turned and we were trying to calm them down, but they were being aggressive and Molly tried to take one of them down and he  _ cut  _ her. And… and I didn’t know what to do and I fucking stabbed him, you guys.” Karo’s practically hyperventilating, eyes filling with tears.

“Oh my God. Were… were those members of the church, then?” 

“I think so,” Karo sniffles. “But they were the ones being aggressive, not us, you have to trust me on that, okay?”

“Of course.” Gert wraps Karolina in a hug and Molly shifts uncomfortably. “This isn’t either of your faults.”

~~

Karolina practically launches herself into Nico’s arms as they walk back through the Hostel’s entrance, clinging to Nico and hiding her face in the crook of the shorter girl’s neck. Everyone else follows behind her, Molly’s upper arm wrapped in bandages.

Nico cradles Karolina softly, letting her cry and murmuring softly into her ear. “What’s wrong? What happened, Karrie? Are you okay?”

Molly brushes past them and passes Chase on the stairs as he comes running down, immediately approaching Gert. He sort of touches her arm like he doesn’t know what to do, but she ends up grabbing his hand and leading him back upstairs towards her bedroom. Weird, but not entirely surprising at this point.

“Alex, what happened?” Nico demands, Karolina now pressed to her side, face ducked down and hand clasped in Nico’s.

“There were church members there. They caught Molly and Karolina off guard and… Karolina can tell you the rest, if she wants. But everyone’s okay, physically at least.” He even looks a little bit shaken up, but he sets his shoulders in that dumb way he does when he wants to look okay but obviously isn’t. Nico sees it everyday, she can tell by now.

“You wanna go up to the treehouse, Karrie?” Nico asks softly, running a thumb up and down the skin on Karolina’s shoulder. The blonde nods and lets Nico lead her towards their room, sitting and facing her on the bed, breathing slowly like she’s waiting to say something.

Nico can wait for when Karolina’s ready to tell her, as much as she’s worried, the only thing that matters is that everyone made it out alive. Nico would probably wait forever for Karolina if that’s what made her happy.

“I, uh…” Karolina sniffles and swallows. “I stabbed someone. The guy who hurt Molly, I wasn’t thinking and I just…” Her breathing starts to pick up again and Nico watches as tears flood her eyes. She leans forward to catch Karolina and cradle her head to her shoulder, running a hand gently up and down her back.

“Hey, hey… It’s okay- you were protecting Molly. That’s what you always do, you protect the people you love. I know you didn’t want to do it, you did it ‘cause you thought you had to.” Nico coos softly.

“You don’t even know the details, what if I just did it for fun?” They both giggle at that and stay in their embrace.

“You wouldn’t do it if you didn’t have to. You’re just… protective. You love  _ so much  _ that it takes precedence over anything else. And- and I really admire that about you.” Nico admits, and she’s almost a little bit worried when Karolina pulls back to face her.

“I actually only got his leg. Like… he should be fine, it just freaked me out.” Karolina smiles softly and links her hand with Nico’s.

“That’s okay. This is all really… really different than anything we’ve ever been through.” They’re just smiling at each other now, and it feels like a moment. A moment that will inevitably pass in the next few moments.

They’ll go back to dancing around it- share their bed like it doesn’t carry a whole lot of weight between them. Ignore these moments where the space between them is almost nonexistent and if one of them just went for it they wouldn’t have to shift away from each other again.

It’s been like this for weeks and Nico’s really starting to get tired of it. Like, this is the apocalypse and suddenly a whole bunch of old childhood feelings are being dragged up at the most inconvenient time and she can’t just man up and go for it. They’ve both sort of been sending signals, right? She hasn’t been imagining this?

She could do it, if she was really brave. Kiss Karolina, that is- or at least own up to her feelings, but she won’t, she can’t not yet.

She’s ready to pull back, deal with it until they have another one of these moments and she’ll have to think about what it would be like to kiss her best friend or tell her that she means everything to her in so many ways that they haven’t even acknowledged yet. But she won’t.

Then, Karolina shifts a bit, but not away. Almost closer. She takes a breath in through her nose and… leans forward. Presses their lips together. It takes Nico a second to react- she feels like she’s about to explode before she realizes she’s just sitting there.

She hurries to respond, bringing her hand up to cradle Karolina’s chin and run it through the little baby hairs that wisp next to her ear. Karolina grins into the kiss, which makes it probably not that good, but Nico’s smiling too and she doesn’t really care. This is pretty much all that matters now.

~~

“I honestly wouldn’t worry too much about it, I think Molly’s just… embarrassed, shaken up? She’ll come around, just give it time.” Chase assures Gert, both of them laying on her bed, staring at the water damaged popcorn ceiling above them.

“What if her cut’s infected? What if she gets super sick and it’s technically her fault because she’s being so stubborn?” Gert almost sounds like she’s joking, but he knows there’s an air of honesty to what she’s saying. She’s worried, obviously.

“If it makes you feel better I’ll try and get her to let me look at it.” He smiles at nothing, letting himself study Gert in his peripheral. The purple in her hair is definitely not gonna be around for too much longer, but he thinks she brought dye after they first left, so maybe one of these days they’ll redye it. Or… she and Molly will, whatever.

“She’d probably let you, that’s the annoying thing. I think she might like you more than me.” Gert laughs, letting out a breath through her nose.

“Sorry, I guess I’m just that charming.” He nudges her with his elbow.

“Oh, totally. I think it’s the nice hair, pretty face. Practically everyone at Atlas was in love with you.” She jokes and Chase shakes his head.

“Nah, the theatre kids all hated me. And the art kids. Even the vape kids had a problem with me.” He readjusts the pillow under his head.

“Don’t let that distract from the fact that practically everyone else wanted to  _ be  _ you. Or be with you, it was kind of weird. I remember when you were, like, twelve and scared to talk to girls.” She laughs. It’s actually pretty annoying, because it reminds him of the one person who didn’t like him throughout almost their entire highschool experience. Her. She didn’t even cast him a glance in the hallway, though that didn’t stop him from staring after her as she walked down the hallways. She even went out of her way to get out of doing a project with him, once.

But here they are now, just laying around and talking like it’s normal. Well, nothing’s normal anymore, so at least they have each other.

“I was totally cute when I was twelve, though, right?” He glances at her and smiles when he sees her scrunch up her nose in that way that he loves so much.

“Totally. You’re definitely cuter when you don’t have that stupid jock persona going on.” She says softly, meeting his eyes for a second.

“Who said it was a persona? Maybe that’s just me.” He feigns offense, holding back a laugh. Definitely not him, she knows that.

“Absolutely not, Stein. You’re a total nerd and I know it.” She smiles at him.

“ _ Ouch. _ Just because I’m smart does not mean I’m a nerd.”

“When did I say you were smart? You just like super nerdy shit, own up to it.”

“Hm, I don’t think I will.”

“Man up, nerd.”

“Never.”

Gert sighs like she’s actually really annoyed by it.

“Now I know where Molly learned to be so stubborn.” She turns on her side and scoots closer to Chase, resting her head on his pillow with him.

“Oh, we’re cuddling now?”

“I’m cold and you’re a human heater, if you have a problem with it you can go back to that hammock in the garage.” She’s practically whispering right next to his ear.  _ Jesus Christ. _

“Nah, I’ll take the master and its super warm bed and you’ll be totally jealous.”

“I won’t have to be jealous if we just share the super warm bed. Now stop talking, I’m trying to sleep.” She sighs in his ear and he almost fucking loses it. His brain is practically twisting over itself and he knows he definitely never wants to go back to the hammock in the garage, or the master bedroom, if it means Gert wouldn’t be with him.

“Night, Gert.”

“Night, Chase.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you like this fic, check out my [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/freckledpianoman) and tell me about it! i'm also willing to give possible spoilers and looks into the next chapter, just ask!


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